The Battle for Korona
by VeeVee The Writer N Artist
Summary: Veara was assigned to keep on eye on the harvesting of the Regimight crystals, everything was going smoothly until a certain orange captain decided to try and sneak in the mines...
1. Chapter 1

This is the sequel to "Veara"! Go read that in order to understand why a little main character is in the place she is in own~!

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Veara was standing in the control room of a flag ship. Today's mission was a simple one, to control a large amount of regimight, an orange crystal that holds a high amount of an unique energy. This kind of energy was near impossible to recreate in any controlled environment and was highly desired throughout the Galaxy. It had the ability to strongly enhance any weaponry that used exotic energy. Not only that, but the energy that regimight produces is one of a few energies that is capable to powering one of the Grox's most devastating weapons: The Cleansing Ray.

As much as it doesn't sound threatening, it was a force to be reckoned with... and it was greatly feared throughout Aeron. The purpose of this mechanical item was to take planets that were brimming with life and shred them apart into a barren T0 husk... the perfect environment for the all-mighty Grox.

Korona, the planet with a ridiculous amount of Reigmight embedded in it's crust, was the destination of Veara and her crew. It was a red and orange planet, having already been cleansed of it's T1 rating almost immediately after its discovery. It was jealously guarded by the Grox, being their main source of these insane power crystals.

Veara gently scratched her neck with her threatening metal claws. This was a boring mission to her. She was the commander of an entire armada! She should be guarding the core and destroying pitiful captains that dare try to get anywhere close, not doing some pansy collecting mission. Alas, the Emperor made it very clear that she needed to go, fully aware that the Artlen wasn't all that pleased to be assigned to supervise the ongoing Regimight mines. He did have to remind her that this was an important mission and, without the Regimight, the Grox wouldn't be at their peak of power. With a huff and a one quiet, displeased murr, Veara begrudgingly agreed to the mission. Not that she had much of a choice to be honest, the Emperor would have sent her on the mission even if she refused, not that she would anyways. She had been serving the Grox long enough to hear the horror stories about what the Emperor did to others that failed, disappointed, or even hinted at refusing him. Besides, she didn't like the idea of disappointing him.

Veara moved across the control room and peered over the heads of the Grox pilots, making sure they were on the right course and that there was nothing wrong. One of the things that Veara prided in herself in was her excellent piloting capability, able to quickly spot anything that was not right and fix the problem within seconds. Veara had the lowest spacecraft casualty rate our of any of the empire's other high commanders. Of course, she would be piloting the ship herself but her officers insisted that others would control the ship whilst she keep her keep her eyes on the others. Her very presence only made the Grox on the ship do their best, not wanting to face her wrath and the reports she was willing to give to the Emperor.

Seeing that everything was in toe, Veara glided out of the control room to check on everything else. She had plenty of time to make sure everything was set for the containment of the slightly unstable energy crystals. If they were not handled with care, the crystal would literally explode and the heat energy would be enough to seriously harm or even kill someone. They would also have to be spared from the flying super heated crystallized shards.

Veara peered into the labs and was pleased to see the preparation of the crystals was going smoothly. It took a lot of work to keep the crystals under control, and the Emperor wanted to add more planets to the Grox empire as soon as possible what with their booming population and the need for more room. In a way, this pleased Veara. The mighty race she served was prospering.

Striding down the hallway Veara returned to the control room and sat down in her chair. This was going to be long and uneventful trip to Korona. She felt the desire to go to the training chamber to unleash whatever tension was inside of her... but a part of her didn't think this was a good idea. She needed her soldiers in fighting states and not beaten and bruised. Veara's lips curled into a small private smile, she had always been the best fighter in the armada... a source of pride that she reveled in. Her skills continued to be sharpened with each passing galactic year. Veara had a feeling that the Emperor also took in pride in her skills, a fact that made her never want to prove him wrong.

Veara was lost in her thoughts, sitting quietly in her chair watching the stars fly by in the window in front of her. A pilot alerted her that the ship was approaching Korona. Smiling and sitting up straighter, Veara nodded her approval and watched the planet that used to be a pin prick in the vast distance grow larger and larger.

Beyond all of this, however, Veara had a gut feeling that this would not be a normal collecting mission. Something wasn't quite right...


	2. Chapter 2

Veara stood at the cockpit's entrance as the Grox flag ship slowly descended towards the surface of Korona. A small army of Grox miners and Dronox miners were behind her, all ready to unload and begin the regimight extraction process.. With a thud and a small quake of the ship, the spacecraft landed and and the cockpit began to open.. No wind greeted the group - nothing but a calming silence. Thanks to the Grox modifications done to be the inner workings of her body, Veara was able to survive on T0 planets like the creatures she served.

Veara lead her mining crew out and onto the crystal laced surface of the planet, her hands behind her back and her face stern. The old Artlen scanned the area and was pleased to see that all of their equipment was untouched and in their proper places. She then turned to face her crew and nodded for them to start working. The miners moved forward and obeyed the silent command.

Veara silently paced all over the working area, keen eyes scanning her miners. Since the crystals must be handled with the utmost care, Veara had to make sure everything was in check or else she have to face the blunt end of the Emperor's wrath. Veara wandered into the mine shafts to supervise the ongoing harvesting. The mines were hot and Veara could feel the exceptional thermal pressure beating against her skin. It didn't bother her, however. If this place had any air, however, it would have been terribly stuffy.

"Veara, sir!" said a Grox scientist, trotting over to the Artlen. Veara paused and looked down at the Grox with her usual glare.

"Yes..?" she asked, curious about what the scientist had to say that was so important.

"During our expeditions, we discovered a dormant volcanic ridge. We are not sure if it's active yet, but it is fairly close to the mines. We do not want to risk awakening it."

Veara nodded to this. It would indeed prove more troublesome if the main mine shafts were flooded with lava.

"All right then, continue to mine in that section as long as it is necessary, then we can chart out a new area to mine. Until then, keep me alerted on the volcano."

"Yes sir."

Veara watched the Grox returned to his duties. She worked her way back to the mines entrancing, exciting and standing tall as she looked around the area. She watched her men work hard as the harvested, stabilized, contained, and transported the Regimight to the labs on the flag ship. However, something was off... Veara could feel that she was being watched by something that she didn't command. This feeling easily made Veara rather stiff in her back and caused the spines located their to extend slightly in a defensive reflex.

"Hm?"

Veara's ears snapped up as she thought she saw a flash of orange out the corner of her robotic eye. She tilted her head to one side as she eyed the pile of discarded rocks that came from the mines. Was her eye bugged? This bionic eye has never failed her in the long years she had it. Veara decided to play is safe and began to look around for any Dronox that might be nearby. She spotted a dozen of them and whistled at them. Once she had their attention, she gestured for them to follow her. They scrambled to immediately obey her as she moved towards the pile of discarded rocks. Veara silently commanded the Dronox into position. If all went right, Veara and her Dronox would greatly surprise whatever they were about to find hiding behind this pile.

With a snarl, Veara leaped over the rocks, twisted in mid air to face whatever was behind them. To her slight surprise, the old Artlen found two aliens hiding, both looked stunned - one even fearful. She smirked as she stood to her full height and placed her hands on her hips as the Dronox surrounded them, their powerful pulse rifles pointing at the intruders. Veara searched through her memory banks, trying to figure out what kind they were.

Her eyes opened wide as the identity of the aliens before her clicked. These were New Tharians. A race that was indisputably the second most powerful race in the galaxy in terms of shear power and occupational size - second only to the mighty Grox, of course. These two thairans in particular looked young. They could easily be new captain recruits.

"Well looky what we got here boys~" said Veara in a sickly sweet voice and smiled. "Two nosy kittens that snuck their way here!"

Suddenly Veara's face darkened before either of the two New Tharians could speak up.

"One word!" she snarled and pointed a metal claw at them, "And it's lights out! I do not want any trouble. As much as I would like to see how your throats slit... I am curious to see how you learned of the existence of this planet. Korona is sovereign property of the Grox Empire."

Veara then waved at the Dronox, and immediately afterwards the Grox machinations pounced.. Veara watched with amusement at the resulting short fist fight before the Dronox quickly overwhelmed the two young captains, tied them up, and gagged them, leaving them silent and helpless.

"Now... lets take them into the deeper parts of the mines." she said, placing her hands behind her back. "There is no point in taking them to the ship since they will be dead by the end of the day.."

Veara lead the group back into the mines, looking determinately forwards as she did so. She could hear the captives whisper. They Dronox were also puzzled and slightly worried about two intruders. However, Veara had the whole thing under control.

At least she thought she did...


	3. Chapter 3

Veara gently sipped some water from a glass as she stared over at her two captive New Tharians. She was deep in thought. It's been almost two hours since these two young captains have been captured. With the only entrance blocked off by Dronox warriors, Veara was free to spend all the time that she wanted to with her little guests. Both of the New Tharians were hot and thirsty, the pressure from the caves making it difficult for them to breath with the ropes that bound their arms not helping the matter. The two New Tharians stared at Veara, eyeing the water she teasingly drank a few times. Sweat started to form as the New Tharians' bodies tried their best to stay cool, whilst Veara's 'upgraded' cybernetic body was comfortable in this environment.

Even though Veara appeared calm, her mind was in overdrive. So many questions ran through her head, the biggest of which was how these two New Tharians were not only able to locate this hidden planet on the outskirts of Groxian territory but also managed to land without being killed. It greatly disturbed her. She would have to tell the empire that the New Tharians clearly had some intel on the functionality of regimight.

Well, one way to get her questions answered was to ask one of the very New Tharians trapped before her.

After drinking the last of the water, Veara gave the glass to a Dronox before she stalked towards the two tied up New Tharians. One glared at her and the other tensely watched her. Circling them a few times - sizing them up - and deciding which one to interrogate first. Veara smiled slightly as she paused in front of the youngest of the two, the one that looked the most afraid and most likely the easiest to break.

Veara reached out and grabbed the youngest new Tharians and dragged him away from the slightly older one, who helplessly watched his shipmate knowing that there was nothing he could do.

"Now... I am going to ask you a few questions kit," Veara said as she forced the New Tharian onro his knees. With a shift slash of her metal claws, Veara cut the gag and watched the New Tharian slip out the cut rags and stretch his jaw.

"First things first... What is your name kitten?" Veara watched with a silent amusement as the New Tharian tried to regain his voice. He was afraid, just the way Veara wanted.

"T... Tetrio..." stuttered the New Tharain, looking up at her with bloodshot hazel eyes.

Veara gave a slight nod before she started to walk around Tetrio at a slow and powerful pace, hands behind her back and clasped together.

"Now onto business," said Veara in a slight deadpan tone, "Tetrio... How did you and your... friend here get passed my armada's defenses? It's quite a stunning feat you've accomplished."

Even though Veara wasn't staring directly at the tharian at that moment, her keen peripheral vision told her that Tetrio had glanced at his shipmate briefly before he opened his mouth to croak out a reply.

"I-I don't know..."

Veara's ears dropped and slid back a little, a sign that she is getting annoyed. She didn't like the "I Don't Know" games. She didn't like a lot of things but playing games that she wasn't interested in nor have the time for was one of the more hated things she had on her long list.

She paused in front of Tetrio, blocking his view of his shipmate. She gently placed a metal claw under his chin so that she could push his head up and make him look at her mismatched eyes.

"That's not an answer kitten..." she whispered in a deadly voice. "You know how you got here... you know why you and your filthy friend is here... I can see your honesty in your eyes. Don't play games with me."

Veara curled her other claws around the New Tharian's soft face, apply enough pressure to cause just enough pain to drive her point home. He whimpered as the claws cut into his skin and caused him to bleed slightly.

"However, I am curious. I know you are here for the Regimight... I want to know how you got here..."

A thought formed in Veara's messed up mind... perhaps she could gain more useful information from these New Tharians. The Emperor would less likely to punish her if she was able to extract something of value that they can use in the war against their most formidable opponent.

"...and maybe.. you can tell me something else that'll keep you alive..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It has been at least 3 hours since the interrogation started and with that little patience Veara had when she started was wearing thin.

Tetrio kept repeating "I don't know!" or "I know nothing!" with each and every question she fired at him.

Veara growled and glared down at the beaten and broken body of the New Tharian. He was still alive, however he was sporting major injuries. Broken bones, dislocated joints, torn muscles, bruises, cuts, and anything in-between. The other New Tharian, who turned out to be named Roku - as Tetrio had informed her - was squirming in his bounds, his cries for mercy for his friend were muffled and ignored.

As of right now, Tetrio was laying on the ground, barely breathing. He had stopped screaming and begging for mercy a while back. His swollen eyes were staring blankly at the wall. Veara crouched down and forced the New Tharian to sit up. Eyes connecting, Veara started a cold stare. A stare that showed no mercy.

"One last chance birdy..." she muttered under her breath, sliding a metal claw up his chest and to his chin, leaving a long laceration and caused the exhausted New Tharian to shiver and gasp in pain. "If you don't tell me what I want, your life ends here..."

The seconds of silence turned into minutes as Veara waited for a reply. When she got none, she growled... then she snapped.

With a snarl, she slashed open the New Tharian's throat. Veara stood, now covered in Tetrio's blood. Veara watched the twitching body of Tetrio for quite a while before turning to look at Roku. His eyes were as wide as they were allowed to be, his mouth would have been hanging open if it was not bound. He stared at the body of his shipmate, tears forming in his eyes.

Then he looked at the corrupted Artlen...

The hate that blazed in his eyes was almost as powerful as the that which was alit inside Veara. The Artlen smirked, amused. A creature of this passionate and unbridled hatred was not something she had seen in a long time. This should be interesting.

"You're next pretty birdy..." she muttered softly. She then walked off to calm herself and clean up.

What Veara could not have know, however, that her actions would cause major consequences that would echo throughout time and space for eons to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Veara slowly made her way back to the mine shafts. After cleaning herself up from the blood and cooling off from her rage, she was ready to interrogate the other New Tharian... Roku. She was curious about how this will play out. The hate that had blazed in his eyes was almost as fiery as hers.

Veara hoped that perhaps she'd get something from him, not wanting to face the wrath of the Emperor and all that her failure would entail. She shivered at the unpleasant thought.

Clearing her mind and relaxing her posture, Veara entered the chamber in which Roku was being held. The captain was still tied securely to a metal pole. His head was down and his eyes were closed. She swiftly walked over to his kneeling form and looked down at him, eyeing him up and down.

"Let's see what you have to say kitten.." Veara said in a sickly sweet voice, as if nothing had happened before hand. With a swift slash, the corrupted Artlen cut the New Tharian's gag, waiting intently for what was about to come out of the creatures throat.

Roku coughed for a couple of moments before raising his head up to make eye contact with the smiling Artlen.

"Hope you had a good night's rest," Veara said darkly, the sarcasm practically flooding the entire room.

Roku gave no response. He maintained eye contact, but said nothing.

Veara tilted her head to one side. She was somewhat surprised to hear nothing from him. Most of the time whenever she took someone, their ship mate would be yelling and or cursing at her. She had gotten so used to it by now, she even expected it to happen again. Though to be honest, this wasn't the first time she had a silent one.

The old Artlen knelt down she could be at Roku's eye level. The tharians eyes followed hers.

"Naw what's the matter?" She cooed, having a ball with the fact that she could do pretty much anything with him right now. She stroked a metal claw against his cheek, almost affectionately. "Have the little birdy lost his voice?"

Veara applied pressure on his cheek and the claws easily cut his soft flesh. A couple of small lines of blood fell down his face.

"Come come now, I know you have a lot to say and I have a lot to hear. Can't we work things out?"

Roku was silent for a good deal longer. Veara smiled with anticipation as the tharian began to open his mouth.

"The Dronox call you Commander Veara. Is that true?"

Veara furrowed her brow. That was not what she expected. Tilting her head to the other side a little, Veara weighed the pros and cons about telling Roku. On one hand, her very name had the power to cause a lot of dread in the majority of the Galaxy's inhabitants, given her long life span and her presence when a good number of species reached the "space stage." Not to mention the number of small and pathetic races that she was capable of taking down single handedly... On the other hand, Roku seemed like a smart one. He would probably use her identity against her somehow. However, as much as secretive as possible, Veara decided that telling him would plant powerful seeds of fear and doubt in this tough New Tharian.

"Why yes am I little one," she said, making herself comfortable in front of Ruko by sitting down, folding her legs up against her chest and placing her mismatched arms on her knees. She leaned back slightly - a sign of a content Artlen.

"I almost guarantee you've at least heard whispers of my legacy. Perhaps... 'The one that has subjugated more species in this age than the Grox altogether in the past ten galactic cycles.' You may of course be curious as to why an Artlen, a colorful yet simple creature, would be working for the greatest species in all of space and time? Well, sorry to say but I am not in a place to tell you sweety."

"Veara of the Artlen Empire. It's a beautiful name. Your race was once a shining example of diversity and peace. A gorgeous civilization of many sub-species living in harmony. Such a feat is nearly impossible for any race to maintain. Very few in recorded history have accomplished what your race had. The Artlens were amazing."

Veara didn't speak. She was unsure of where her prisoner was going. Sure she had heard of her race before, even met some during a raid. She even heard of the sub species dying out, she can remember the Emperor reassuring her that she was nothing like then, she is better than them. However that was besides the point of this interrogation.

"But the Grox... the Grox are something completely different. They have survived for so long not by being great or harmonious... but by destroying, amalgamating, and obliterating. They are a false race of clones and mutations. They are a shadow of life. How could a member of the harmonious Artlens fall so far from grace?"

"I did not fall from grace, I ascended to state of higher knowledge."

"You actually believe that? Truly and completely?"

"Your sense of morality is misguided, bird. You act as if you stand on the highground, full-to-bursting with some sort of divine right. Let me let you in on a little secret, Roku. Divinity, life, and morality yield no benefit. They have no consequence. Gaining power is the most meaningful thing you can do in this world. I have lived long enough to know this truth though the core of my being.

Roku closed his eyes again, obviously aware that his statement had not impacted Veara at all. He waited a moment more before speaking.

"For the longest time, my race lived in fear of your power. So too does every species in this galaxy."

"As well you should!"

"No... no you misunderstand Veara. The abomination that is your empire has grown far too accustomed to the status quo. What was once the case no longer is. My race no longer lives in fear of the Grox. We rival you. We will defeat you. We will end you."

The smile on Veara's face disappeared and replaced with a snarl. Rage returned to her as Roku not only spat upon the Grox's legacy but also to disgrace Veara by thinking that his race was mightier than the ones she serves. Sitting up straight, unwrapping herself from her relaxed position and leaded towards Ruko in order to back slap him, effectively turning his head from the force.

"You fool! If your race is sooo high and mighty then why haven't you 'defeated' us? You and your pathetic race will soon turn to ashes and disappear into nothing like the other races that came before you! Countless galactic cycles yielded the same result! I watched empires rise to their highest and fall to their lowest! Your words mean nothing to me!"

Veara stood, feeling her spines on her back rose up and her back stiffened up. She wasn't pleased by all of this.

"Now let us return to the original subject and tell me HOW you got here! And no games Roku, I do not like games."

"But you seemed so incredibly fond of playing games earlier. You tortured my shipmate for hours. Explain to me how that isn't a game to you."

"That wasn't a game, pretty bird. If I wanted to play games, he would be still alive and screaming his lungs out right now, plus he'd be missing a few limbs too. It would have been a delicious mess. I simply wanted to get the information that I needed and no more. He was simply unwilling to say anything so I had to try a different way to gain information…" Muttered Veara in a dangerously low voice, leaning closer to his face to where both creatures can feel each others breaths. This wasn't going according to plan and Veara didn't like it.

"If you want to know so badly... we came here to confirm the presence of regimight on this planet. We had no idea Grox had already claimed this world."

Veara glared at him, suspicion building. There was more too it than he was seeming. There were many more questions piling up in the Artlen's mind. She began to pace around him.

"That still doesn't answer my question!" She roared loudly. "You told me WHY you are here, I want to know HOW you got here. You would have met with our defenses. Now you sparked even more questions that needs to be answered. How do you even know of this planet? How did you locate it?"

Her rage got the better of her as she whipped around and slammed her metal fist into Roku's face, effectively breaking his nose. More blood began to trickle down the creature's orange face. His stoic expression wavered for a moment, but he regained his composure.

"I misunderstand, Veara."

"Korona is firmly entrenched in Grox territory. Whatever mission you're embarking on is not simply for reconnaissance. This is without a doubt an offensive. Explain to me why I should trust anything you say."

Roku began to laugh quietly, his head beginning to tilt downwards - breaking eye contact with the artlen.

"Trust... I can't believe you'd use such a word," Roku said, darkly, "You expect to trust me? Really? You'll gain that privilege - that honor - when I'm capable of trusting you, Veara. What do I have to gain from telling you the truth? I will die, and you will use my corpse as a symbol of domination for the rest of my empire. Trust? Please. Neither of us will ever trust one another. Why even try?"

Veara was seething. This wasn't what she planned and this was getting away from the point. Though Roku did have a point, they will never trust each other. Time to try a different approach.

Using her metal claws, she pushed Roku's face upwards so he would be looking at her. She had a disturbingly blank look on her face as she stared down at him.

"You clearly don't know what I can do…" She whispered, there was an evil gleam in her mismatched eyes. "There is a fate worse than death yes? You're young, you must have someone you cherish. I am a master of stealth, I have taken down many empires by myself simply by slipping in and passed their defense… I can very well take you to my ship and force information out of you, it'll be a great waste of energy but I'll get what I want and more… and… I can find out who you love, take them for their homes and torture them to death… right… in… front… of you…"

She lead a little closer with each word, still maintaining that unnervingly blank stare. She tilted her head to one side once more.

"Your choice little one…"

The stare between the two seemed to last for an eternity. He gave no response.

"Very well. Then I will..."

Veara stopped talking immediately. It all happened too fast.

The New Tharian had vaulted himself upwards using his legs, grasping the rope bindings firmly with his hands. Right when his body was high enough - but just before he began to fall back towards the ground - he extended his right leg, grasped Veara's left arm firmly in his talons, and pulling her swiftly towards him.

The artlen had no idea what was going on. He mechanical mental process were firing and considering every possibility - every method of counter attack. By the time she knew what she had to do... it was too late.

That damn tharian had been baiting her... waiting for the right moment. She had been brandishing those sharp metal claws in front of him the whole time. What was she thinking? What had she expected? It didn't matter anymore.

Roku had successfully used Veara's metal claws to slice through his rope bindings. A couple of moments later, and the force from Roku's pull sent her toppling to the floor. She had to act NOW.

The New Tharian captive was standing up, smiling and staring towards the form of Veara despite the fact he now sported four long bleeding cuts on his cheeks.

"I enjoyed our talk, but please, just between us, you might want to avoid making empty promises."

Veara was already getting back to her feet, but it was once again too late. Roku was already out of the chamber - no doubt running through the regimight mines.

That's when she snapped again. Unleashing a roar that rattled the very mines, Veara rolled onto her belly so that she could jump forward and run on all fours. This was were her natural gift of agility shined and within a moments she was already catching up with her escaping prisoner, yelling and cursing all the way. Her loud outburst has alerted the warriors and miners that things were about to get interesting.

"YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET ALL OF THIS!" Screeched Veara, lunging forwards and tackling Roku, trying to pin down the thrashing New Tharian. With a yelp, Roku stumbled from the sudden increase of weight on his shoulders. Leaning forwards, the New Tharian reach back and grabbed Veara by the shoulders and tossed her off of him. She crashed into a stone wall with all the momentum she had started with.

Seeing it was too dangerous to go near the enraged Artlen, Roku decided to try a different way out of the mines. By the time Veara corrected herself, he had turned and dashed into another hallway. Snarling, Veara ran after him, bouncing off the walls to gain more ground, hellbent on recapturing him and making him pay. Oh she is going to enjoy his screams later…

Both creatures came bursting into an abandoned chamber. There was a naturally formed ravine on the northern side of the room that lead down to the sleeping volcano Veara had been alerted to earlier. A horrible idea popped in Veara's head and without a second thought... she decided to follow through.

She launched herself towards Roku and opened her powerful jaws. With a nasty crush, Veara had snapped her jaws tight around on the delicate structure of Roku's right wing. There was a cry of pain but Veara paid to mind to it. She yanked Roku to her, grabbed him by the waist, and threw him down into the ravine in hopes of him either burning him alive from the heat, killing him from the fall, or possibly trapping him there until Veara could get reinforcements.

Veara stood there and licked her lips, cleaning her muzzle a little and tasting the New Tharian blood as she recovering from her sudden chase. She wasn't aware of the fact that Roku has successfully grabbed a ledge that stuck out from the ravine's side. She did hear him gasp though. Baring her teeth, Veara peered over the ledge to find a hanging Roku, gripping the walls with all of his might. She watched with amusement that Roku's attempts to right himself to a point where he can climb himself out, flapping his wings to steady himself. He was losing a fair about of blood from the deep wound she made on his wing and she can see his face was pale.

Veara smiled as she listened to the pained cries coming from Roku as he desperately righted himself.

"Naw, the little birdy can't fly… what a shame~!" Said Veara with glee, placing her hands behind her back and strode to the ledge to watch the struggling New Tharian. "For a creature that came from a self claimed mighty race, you and what's his face are not a very shining example. One was scared to death and the other is a stupid captain. It's funny how pathetic you are!"

She laughed and turned to trot back to her ship, not seeing the hate on Roku's face.

Things were starting to look up for Veara when there a mighty KA-BOOM in other parts of the mines. The ground shook, rattled, and bits of loose rock fell from the walls and ceiling. Yelling and screaming started to appear in all directions and Veara's eyes widen as she realized the true motive of Roku's plan. He has awaken the volcano and now the mines started to collapse on itself.

Veara didn't even bother to say anything as she started to run on all fours, desperate to get out of the falling caves.

Rocks fell and the unstable Regimight started to decay and explode from the sudden stress all around them. Veara hissed in pain as a few said crystal stalagmites collided against her body and burned her, but she wouldn't let it slow her down. It seemed like forever running through the mine shafts and Veara was panicking, thinking that she wouldn't make it out of the caves. Her heart soared when she saw the exit and with a final leap, she cleared the space between her swiftly closing opening.

She collapsed on the rocking ground, panting and in pain. There were many burns and cuts on her body and some of them were bleeding. Her recovery was immediately cut short as the explosive activity in the caves underneath her become more apparent. Following this, she heard the yells and shouts of her crew members. Staggering to her feet, she made on final mad dash to the mother ship that was hovering fifty feet from the entrance to the mines. There were a few miners and Dronox warriors on the docking platform, waiting to grab their commander. Veara climbed the large pile of discarded rocks and with a mighty leap in the air, Veara grabbed the edge of the dock and started to pull herself up. Many hands grabbed her and helped Veara into the ship before the dock closed.

Finally, Veara laid on the cool metal ground of the ship, eyes closed, panting hard, and trying not to move too much else she upset her already aching body. She paid no mind to the bustling crowd around her. She was just glad she made it out of the mines.

Her eye snapped open and she grimaced at the thought having to report this to the Emperor. She groaned in displeasure and covered her face with her natural hand as she allowed her crew to move her to the medical bay to be treated, and she mulled over what she have to say to the Emperor.

She is going to be really sore after the meeting with the Emperor...


	5. epilogue

Veara licked her lips as she hopped from one pawed foot to the next. She didn't want to go and see the Emperor with the news she bared. Well... she didn't want to see his reaction. Feared by many, including Veara, the Emperor's fury is something glorious and terrifying to behold. As much as she wanted to have someone else to take her place, she knew she would have to face this herself...

Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back, and put on a dead pan face. She opened the double doors that lead to the Emperor's chambers. As was to be expected, he was sitting on his throne, alone and awaiting Veara's reports.

The Grox's mismatched eyes snapped to her then a smile slowly appeared on his lips. It was no secret that Emperor Civet was always fond of the messed up Artlen. He fought hard to keep her under his command for as long as he could. Many other leaders within the Grox wanted the gifted Artlen on their side.

"Ah Veara..." he purred, sitting up a little straighter and watched Veara stalk closer to this throne. "How was your trip to Korona?"

Veara didn't say anything, her heart beat wildly as she knelt at the base of the throne. She stared at the ground and at her metal fist that was planted firmly on the ground, keeping her steady as she knelt. Civet noticed the unusual silence the Artlen was bearing and his smile started to fade, something was not right.

"There..." started Veara, choosing her next words carefully "was a major problem my Emperor..."

Civit frowned as he leaned forward in his throne. This was troubling news coming from Veara, who had lead the mining project.

"What kind of problem...?" he asked coldly. Veara flinched inwardly, forcing herself to remain calm.

"Intrusion," she simply stated, bracing herself.

"What?!" Civit snapped. He stood up and stalked towards the kneeling Artlen. Veara continued to look at the ground, listening to her Emperor's mismatched foot steps as he drew closer to her. Soon she could see his feet in her field of view, standing uncomfortably close to her.

"Tell me everything Veara..." He muttered in a dangerous tone. The Artlen swallowed before she told him everything. She told him how things were going as planned, how she saw the intruders, captured them, tortured and killed one, how the other somehow outsmarted her, how he ran for his life, and how the two intruded planted a bomb inside the mines without getting caught.

By the time Veara finished her story, she knew he was furious, she had been with him long enough to know his reaction. There was a deadly silence that lasted a few good minutes. Then... Civet suddenly started to circle the nervous Artlen.

"I am rather disappointed in you Veara," he said smoothly. His tone made Veara shivered inwardly, still staring at the ground and not daring to look up. Unexpectedly, Civet placed his metal hand on Veara's back and started to run it upwards. This sudden action caused Veara to flinch from the touch. His metal hand was tremendously cold. She fought the urge to move away with all her strength, straining to keep her spines on her back from rising.

"After all, you are the very best commander around, having a near perfect track record... So far, no other has topped you," he said quietly, running his hand up her neck and hair. "Losing a mine this valuable is..."

Civet grabbed Veara's pony tail and jerked it back. Veara yelped in surprise and pain, Civet was stronger than he looked. She was forced to twist her body around to avoid hurting her back, cursing her Artlen body having the inability to bend backwards properly. She didn't try to escape his death grip as it would only make things worse. She could only shiver in pain and keep her pawed hands on the ground.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" roared Civet, still having Veara's hair in his iron clad grip, knowing he had her under his total control. "This sets us back greatly in our expansion of the empire!"

"Sir I-I-" stammered Veara, trying her best to keep her composure. "It wont happen again! I swear to you!"

Civet leaned in closer to Veara with a murderous look in his eyes.

"You better hold up to that promise, Veara, or else the punishment will be dire."

Civet then threw Veara to the ground and left her there as he walked back to his throne as gracefully as an angry Grox could muster.

"You are dismissed," he said coldly, sitting down and watched Veara pick herself up. Veara got up, bowed, and started to walk towards the large doors to leave.

Civiet then added, "Don't you dare think that you got away clear from this." Veara flinched slightly "You will be punished for this mistake. I have to make sure you don't make the same mistake again."

Veara slowly nodded, a hand on the door.

"Y-yes sir..." She said, her stomach doing the conga at the thought of her punishment. Pushing open the door, she left the throne room.

Once she got a good distance away from the Throne room, Veara stopped and leaned against a wall forehead first. Sighing, she dreaded her punishment tonight. it's going to be a long one... She growled a predatory growl, enraged at the thought of her punishment and towards the one who caused it. Oh how she hated Roku and his very kind...

That day onward, she swore to kill Roku if she ever were to meet him again. He had started a burning hatred, an undying rivalry, that would never be extinguished. With absolute certainty, Veara knew that in order for her to be satisfied... Roku needed to die.


End file.
